Final round interview IC1/IC2
One of my colleagues from university recently completed his final interview round with SDM & Senior SWE. It has been five business days since then, but he hasn't heard back about whether he was selected for the role. He mentioned that the interview was supposed to be with HackerRank but encountered issues, so they used Google Docs instead. He said the questions were exclusively on basic Java and little bit of algo. He completed all five questions, except for one where he didn't notice a bug in the line, and another where his syntax was incorrect, although his logic was sound. His recruiter has been consistently responsive, which I told him is a good sign. I want to know what is taking them so long, whether they are considering rejecting him because of his mistakes or if they are planning to give him an offer.
Discussion
(2 comments)- 3
8 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroIt's impossible to know what the recruiter and hiring manager are thinking. That being said, here's my "algorithm" when it comes to recruiter communication:
- Figure out the expected time for them to follow-up (i.e. what "due date" have they set for themselves to get back to you). Sometimes they tell this to you, but if they don't, you should ask. Reduce as much ambiguity as possible
- Send them a polite follow-up message every 3 business days after they miss the due date
- If you do Step #2 3 times and there's no response, assume that you got rejected and they're ghosting you
Onsites generally take a while to evaluate, and I imagine that it's even tougher now given the massive supply of quality candidates, especially at the junior level. 5 business days doesn't worry me too much as some onsites take 2 weeks to fully process. Meta took 2 weeks to get back to me.
Best of luck to your friend!
- 08 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
One of the harsh realities of interviewing is the randomness and unpredictability of it, as explained here: Interviewing: Why It Sucks.
There are so many reasons why your friend may not receive a reply:
- The recruiter is on vacation and there's no backup
- The company changed it's approach to hiring based on an earnings report, macro-economic condition, or something else.
- The recruiter or hiring manager is having a bad day and decides to pull the offer.
I would recommend your friend follow up now, and then again after a week, but don't hold your breath. The best thing to do is to have alternative options. (They also should not expect feedback about their interview performance.)
